Cobblestone
by Extrinsical
Summary: The grip Ruby had on her tightened, as if afraid she would flee the moment she could - and Weiss could admit to herself that she had considered it.


19/03/2015: More corrections made - thanks to Astarael00 for the help.

_**Cobblestone**_  
One-shot| Weiss, Ruby | 7, 865 words  
Post-Season 2. There will be spoilers to some degree.

_BGM: Sword Art Online - Overfly (AmaLee - English version)  
BGM 2: Christopher Haigh - The awakening_

. . .

She was sore.

Tired, sore, and low on aura from the exhausting spar she'd just had with Ruby.

Her leader was all speed and unpredictable chaos, and it took everything she had to make sure Ruby never, ever got to her blind spot. One little misstep, and her partner would most certainly knock her down.

With a sigh, she moved to lean further back against the thick tree trunk, the grass cool where she sat - only to grunt when a weight plopped down on her lap.

"Ruby," she scowled, "Get off."

"Don't wanna." Her leader all but curled into her, arms moving to wrap around her waist.

For a minute, the heiress entertained the idea of trying to disentangle herself or scolding the girl for the audacity - but could quickly tell that either option was unlikely to work.

One was because even if Weiss wanted to make such a choice, Ruby had a tight grip that she wasn't willing to let loose, that much was apparent.

Two was because the heiress wasn't _mad_ mad, just exasperated and maybe a little grumpy but not exactly minding the sudden intrusion. Spending four years together probably did have some effect on that.

As an extra: Ruby, being the little monster that she was, had likely realized that.

That didn't stop her from flicking her leader on the head lightly though.

"You are such a child," she grumbled, and opted to lean back against the trunk instead.

Ruby just grinned in that adorable way of hers that made Weiss torn between groaning and banging her head against the trunk. Her leader was _not_ allowed to still look like that at the age of _nineteen_.

Instead, she sighed, and prayed for patience.

That was when she noticed broken pieces of dry, brown leaves stuck in Ruby's hair.

When did that - oh. It must have been when Weiss took advantage of her stumbling.

In fact, there were actually remnants of withered leaves stuck all over Ruby's cloak.

"You are all messy," she commented, hand reaching down to ruffle red-streaked hair to brush them out; despite this, a small part of her was thinking that Ruby should really get off her now if she was dirty.

"You helped," the girl on her lap said, not minding the touch; if anything, the younger girl seemed to lean further into it.

_Just like a puppy._

She shoved the thought away.

"You tried to play dirty first, and you know it," she countered, picking out the dry leaves easily. "Blake taught you that move, didn't she?"

It was, in fact, the very cause of Ruby's stumbling that allowed Weiss to take advantage and send her leader rolling to the ground.

Normally one would not be able to squirm while lying down, much less on someone's lap, but somehow, Ruby managed to do it.

"Maybe…?" her leader looked sheepish.

Weiss rolled her eyes. "A good attempt, but perhaps some practice before utilizing it is in order."

There's a hint of sulk in her partner's expression. "I was practicing! ...With you."

The heiress's gaze was practically stony. "No. You were actually trying to pull that move _on_ me, weren't you?"

Ruby squirmed again. "Maybe…?"

Weiss responded by flicking her forehead again.

"Ow!"

The snow-haired woman huffed again, and returned to brushing off stray leaves from dark locks of hair. "Dolt."

She ignored the pout that was directed her way.

And for a while, only the rustling leaves disrupted the silence between them.

The chill in the air served to tone down the heat and warmth from their sparring, and where it had been comfortably cool, it was, to Weiss's displeasure, getting a bit too cold now.

"Weiss…?"

"What?"

"Do you love your family?"

Weiss's hand stilled from where it had been easing through soft waves of dark hair, and her gaze moved back to the girl whose head is resting on her lap.

Silver eyes, searching and filled with too many things to count, were fixed on her.

"...That's a strange question to ask," she said at last, if a bit carefully.

"No stranger than how you've been acting since you came back from Atlas," Ruby said quietly, eyes calm and piercing yet somehow still as earnest as she had been four years ago.

Where, she couldn't help but wonder, was the naive child she once knew?

It was times like this that showed her just how much her leader had grown from the fifteen year old girl who had been so eager to prove herself.

"So," Weiss said instead, if a bit dryly, "The reason for this sparring is just so you can ask me questions?"

The grip Ruby had on her tightened, as if afraid she would flee the moment she could - and Weiss could admit to herself that she had considered it.

"Part of it," the younger girl mumbled. "Doesn't mean you are not fun to spar with, though."

Weiss hmmed, tugging at dark locks of hair in a gentle rebuke. "That doesn't explain the question."

She had some suspicion as to where that line of inquiry stemmed from. But if Ruby wanted to find out something that was close to her heart, she was going to have to work really, really hard for it as Weiss didn't feel particularly inclined to say anything about it.

The heiress had changed over time, and had grown - however reluctantly at the start - to consider her leader as a friend who was truly dear to her. And with time, she had also learnt to return the affection, if even a little bit; however, she highly doubt it would ever reach the level of how both Ruby and Yang were.

And there were still things that she would never talk about, willingly or otherwise.

Her family and her past before Beacon were some of those things.

"We are graduating soon," Ruby said after a moment.

Her head cocked to a side. "When we pass the exams, yes."

"And we will become huntresses; Yang, Blake, you and I."

"Hm."

"And you will be fast-tracked to manage the Schnee Dust."

She paused at that, but eventually said, "Yes. That hasn't changed."

"So what changed?"

Her mouth closed, and she grimaced inwardly.

Ruby was getting good, very good, at picking out the things she did not say.

It made her contemplate outright lying, but she eventually decided against it. No, Ruby deserved better than that. She would not go to such an extent.

Instead, she suppressed a sigh. "Nothing worth noting. I've already told Blake this, but all of you are worrying over nothing, you know."

A hint of a cheeky smile played on Ruby's features, reminiscent of their younger days. "She asked you?"

"No. But it's Blake."

Her partner conceded the point. "I know that whatever happened is troubling you," Ruby insisted. "We all know. You've been quieter since you got back from Atlas."

"We have exams coming up; I was studying," she pointed out.

"You could do the exams right now and get perfect grades."

"Because I _had_ been studying."

Her leader tightened her grip, and gave her an exasperated look. "_Weiss._"

The white-haired woman raised an aristocratic brow. "Yes?"

A scowl, and Ruby sat up, and turned to better look her in the eye. "Don't be evasive. It doesn't suit you."

This was another thing about Ruby that had changed. Her partner had learnt to be blunt and authoritative, where in the past she might have hedged.

"That's because you are being a dolt," she returned, half-amused and strangely not irritated at the interrogation at all.

Anger, an emotion she was intimately familiar with, seemed far away from her right now.

But then who could blame her if all she wanted was to preserve the normality of their time together until it was time to return to SDC?

"In any case," Weiss continued before Ruby could protest, "nothing has changed, not really."

The look Ruby gave her in return was altogether so tender and expressive that it caused something in her ache, and it made her reach for the red hood to keep those eyes from being able to look right into her soul.

"Hey!" Ruby immediately tugged the hood off, only to realize the heiress had stood up, and a slender hand was stretched towards her in an invitation.

For a moment, her leader just stared up at her in confusion, and it made her quirk an eyebrow.

"Do you want me to leave you here?" she asked dryly.

More staring.

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Yes? As you wish then," she said, then started to retract her hand.

That was Ruby's cue to yelp and scramble to reach for her hand - perhaps grasping and pulling at it with more force than necessary.

The heiress had expected it, however, her footing on the ground firm. And with strength that belied her delicate appearance, Weiss tugged her partner to her feet easily.

Ruby was still looking at her questioningly, but Weiss was already turning, adjusting the sheath on her weapon, and walking further into the forest.

If they were going to have this talk, she was not going to do it where people could hear them. It was bad enough that Ruby had _that _kind of expression that just made her cave immediately.

"W-Weiss…?"

She continued walking at a sedate pace, and it wasn't long before Ruby begun to keep pace with her.

"Weiss?"

She didn't respond.

"Weiss. _Weiss_."

Silence.

"Weee_eii_ \- "

"What," she interrupted then, resisting the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose, "is your impression of my father, Ruby?" Really, was just a few minutes of silence to think too much to ask for?

Thrown off at the sudden question after having been ignored for the past minute, Ruby's brows furrowed.

Mist blue eyes glanced over briefly. "And do not lie to me," she instructed after a pause. "Fake answers will only make me angry."

Ruby winced at the warning. "Uh. Um… but I haven't met him before. And you've never talked about him. What kind of impression would I even have…?"

"The type that you grow to have over time from public appearances, rumors, and what the Schnee Dust had done."

Her leader hesitated. "That's very specific," was the cautious response.

"Hm."

"Okay," Ruby said slowly. "I'll say it, but again, Weiss, you know that I don't judge people till I had the chance to interact with them and - "

She waved her off impatiently. "I know, Ruby. Just say it."

The other grew silent, for a moment, before speaking again.

"He sounded like a very cold man."

She nodded, her voice not betraying anything she felt. "Continue."

"Heartless." Some hesitation. "With a very strong prejudice against faunus."

Silence.

Ruby broke it, this time, rubbing at the back of her head - a habit that Yang had too, Weiss noted idly. "That's, uh...that's actually about all I have, Weiss. I don't know anything about your father save from what I heard or watched."

That was also not quite true. There were a few more descriptions that people had painted her father with, and some she had heard numerous times about. Ruby, it seemed, had chosen to keep it broad and generalized instead.

She supposed it was because her leader was unsure about how she would react.

But it would do.

"And my sister?"

Her partner perked up at the mention of Winter.

"Pretty," Ruby said almost immediately. "She looks like an older version of you, Weiss. And she was wearing this _awesome_ white cloak with a really cool design."

And for some reason, she couldn't help but imagine a suddenly wagging tail.

Her lips twitched in amusement. "Go on."

"She, um...she seems nice…? Kind? And very calm.. uh, I guess? I mean...we only saw her for all of a few minutes before you left for Atlas..."

The heiress hmmed. "No impression from when the three of you were trying to eavesdrop?"

Ruby had the decency to blush. "We couldn't hear anything!" was the defensive protest. "Well, I guess Blake _might_ have heard snippets...but the door was just too thick to hear anything," the younger girl grumbled.

Weiss just snorted.

"And," she said then, took a deep breath, and let it out. "Why did you ask me that?"

The younger girl looked blankly at her, and it made her want to smack the memory back into Ruby.

"Why," she sighed tolerantly, "did you ask me if I love my family?"

"Oh! Uh…" Ruby hesitated. "You just...you seem distanced from your family, Weiss. Not like..." her partner trailed off.

Weiss assumed she was referring to Tai, the exuberant man she had not decided was a pleasure to have met or not... at the very least, she could tell where Yang's bone-crushing hugs stemmed from.

It was also a reaction that gave the heiress pause. She thought she had been acting normally around Winter.

Or perhaps Ruby was just too perceptive.

"You don't think I love my family?" she asked eventually, navigating them to a path she was familiar with.

Ruby hesitated. "I, um...I wasn't sure. You never talk about your family, and then there's all these, um, bad things about your family floating about, and then you seemed really, really _polite_ with your sister, and then when you came back from Atlas, you were... different."

Her partner was beginning to ramble.

"Oh, but um, not the bad kind of polite! It's just - uh, the _uncomfortable_ kind of polite? When you are the _bad_ kind of polite, it means you are reaaaaaally mad. If you are the _good_ kind of polite, that just means you respect the person. Like Professor Goodwitch! But neither seems to be the case this time, and you just looked like you didn't know what to do…"

...Did Ruby really just catalogue her politeness into three types?

She resisted the urge to massage the bridge of her nose, feeling a headache coming, and counted to ten before she sighed again.

"I see."

"I see? _I see_?" Ruby parroted with a pout. "I said so much and that's all you have to say?"

Well.

She supposed that she could mention her disbelief at Ruby having catalogued her different versions of politeness, but that was _not_ something Weiss was going to even start arguing about.

"Yes, actually," she replied, unimpressed by the sulky look, and stopped walking.

"That's not fair," her leader muttered, not even realizing that Weiss had stopped in her tracks.

"Rub - "

"Ow!"

Too late.

Ruby had just smacked face first into something.

"Wha - ?" Ruby rubbed at her red nose and took a step back. "Are we - " a pause, and Ruby looked at the offending object in front of her. "Is this a dead end, Weiss?"

The offending object was in fact rocks.

Rocks, of various sizes, towering over them by a very large margin. There was no way they could just bypass this without some tricky maneuvers.

Weiss just rolled her eyes, and then reached out to hold Ruby firmly by the arm.

Ruby blinked at the sudden touch. "Weiss?"

She ignored the question, forming a glyph under their feet.

Then, with swift, practiced gestures, she leaped, dragging her leader along with a yelp - multiple glyphs formed midway, and they landed gracefully on top of the rocks that blocked their path previously.

Or rather, she landed gracefully while Ruby stumbled in surprise - Weiss did not release her until she was certain her leader was not about to stumble backwards and down the rocks.

For a few seconds, Ruby had this adorably confused look on her face, but once she took in her surroundings...

"Whoa," her partner breathed out in wonder.

They were at a high, grassy cliff overseeing the blue sea.

Blue sky, white clouds and a glittering pool of sea-green that didn't seem to end no matter how Ruby tried to squint at the distance. Beautiful and breathtaking - it wasn't a sight that she would forget, ever.

"This is so _cool_, Weiss. When did you find this place? It's awesome!"

Weiss huffed in slight amusement, then moved further to the cliff - and sat herself on one of the big rocks scattered along the edges.

She breathed in the scent of grass and salt, eyes closing, and feeling the gentle, cool breeze against her skin.

Ruby had moved to sit next to her, red cloak billowing gently, and she could almost feel the warmth belonging to the other reaching her from their near contact.

For a few minutes, the silence was broken only by the rustling trees, waves of the sea, and the soft wind.

Since Ruby seemed content to just watch the scenery for the time being, Weiss turned inwards, to her own thoughts - and debated on how much she would tell her partner.

Too little, and Ruby would keep asking.

Too much, and Ruby would want to know everything.

She needed a balance. First, the unavoidable details - this would be the information that everyone would find out, eventually. Second, the items leading up to them. Third, explaining about these items only up until the point where they could be ended without many questions.

_Go, Weiss._

She breathed in deeply, and spoke.

"My father is dying."

And even without seeing it, she could feel the other whip her head around to stare.

Mist blue eyes opened, and Weiss gazed out at the sea again.

"But like I said," she said, cool and calm, "nothing has really changed. I'm still being fast-tracked to his role. Only, it will be a much faster process now. They do not expect him to live past autumn."

The plan, she reflected, was for her to learn the role for two years, before her father stepped down and she took over. That way it wouldn't be abrupt, her staff would have time to get used to her and vice versa, and she would be better equipped to deal with whatever would come.

The enemies that they had - that _she_ had - were not just the White Fang, after all.

But matters, as it stood, were to be expedited.

"H-how…" Ruby swallowed. "Why…?"

"As assassination attempt by the White Fang." A half-upturned curl of lips, full of irony. "Though I suppose this means that they have finally succeeded."

"_What?_ B-but there's nothing being said on the news! Something this big - "

And for a moment, everything else seem to fade out as a memory took over her.

She remembered the white sterile room.

The beeping machinery, the scent of medicine, the almost non-existing metallic saltiness that permeated the air, the frail man lying motionless on the bed...

It was so like the time when her mother had been on her deathbed.

Her eyes closed again.

"It's kept under wraps for obvious reasons, Ruby," she said. "Can you just imagine the chaos if everyone finds out?"

Her partner clamped her mouth shut at that.

"Winter will manage, for now," Weiss murmured, lost in thought, "but things will be busy the moment I graduate."

Yes - press release to say that her father is stepping down, and her taking over, and slowly, slowly pushing her father out of the limelight (if he had not passed away yet), and her sister…

Her sister.

How was she supposed to face her?

. . .

"But your sister will continue to help you even after you take over, won't she?"

The heiress did not answer.

Here, Ruby hesitated, remembering how Weiss had reacted to Winter.

But she also remembered how Winter had behaved, and the genuine affection tinged with sadness lurking beneath those eyes when the two sisters were talking.

There was something approaching wistful, too, in those eyes, intermingled with worry and hesitance - it was the very reason why Ruby was puzzled over Weiss's reaction.

She could tell Winter cared, so why would Weiss behave the way she did?

"She will help you," Ruby said with conviction. "I'm sure she will."

Weiss was silent, this time.

"...And how," the heiress broke it after a moment, an edge in her voice, "would you know that?"

"Because she's your sister," she insisted. "You are her family, Weiss."

Something like uncertainty flickered in those mist blue eyes, so quickly that Ruby thought she may have imagined it.

And all of a sudden - Weiss looked tired, the air of arrogance that cloaked her like an armor of protection disappearing.

"We are," the heiress acknowledged with a faint, humorless smile, "but you need to remember that not all big sisters are like Yang, Ruby."

The abrupt change confused Ruby. "What do you mean?"

Weiss just looked at her, her sharp gaze guarded and evaluating - as if trying to determine how much more to say.

She didn't take offense. More importantly, she was patient. Even if they had four years together, of spending time together, working together, and trusting their backs to each other...

Ruby knew all too well that emotional attachment did not come easy for her friend.

A friendship, let alone partnership, with Weiss had been a difficult thing to maintain. It was certainly no picnic, her partner would hurt her in what used to be frequent intervals and now scarcely; Ruby had also hurt her back in those rarer and heart-wrenching moments she did not care to repeat.

But despite everything, she had fought tooth and nail to keep what they had, a precious, fragile little thing. And eventually, _eventually, _Weiss did too - and Ruby will never ever forget the moment when her partner had finally reached out to her without any hint of hesitation in her mist blue eyes.

Because at that time, all she could think of was, finally. _Finally_.

So it was really as simple as saying this:

Time spent with the heiress would often be tough, perhaps too ambitious, occasionally too painful… but at the end of the day, it was so, so worth it.

Because underneath it all, Weiss Schnee had a heart of gold reserved for those she cared for most.

The soft wind ruffled pale white hair gently.

"Do you not wonder why I am the heiress, when she is firstborn?" Weiss asked abruptly. "When she had spent years working with my father, learning and managing the business, while I came to Beacon?"

She blinked.

...Come to think of it. Wasn't that odd, now?

"I have never thought about it," she admitted honestly.

The heiress flicked two fingers up in response.

And before them, a white glyph formed to life, rotating slowly - something that Ruby found herself admiring, suddenly.

The glyph had always fascinated her. It was bright, sharp and beautiful, so like the person who wielded it.

"Tell me what you know about obtaining a semblance."

She blinked at the question that seemed out of the blue, and instinctively straightened.

Weiss was using the tone she often had when quizzing her.

"All semblances are unique, but traces of a person's semblance are commonly passed down from one of the parents to one child. It is suspected that…" she trailed off for a moment, trying to remember. "...Um, that the traces of a semblance is carried through blood, but there are also those who opposed the idea… largely because there is no scientific evidence behind it…"

The heiress was still silent, an elegant white brow quirked.

That basically translated to: _What else, Ruby?_

Had Ruby been standing, she might be shuffling her feet.

Feeling a bead of sweat forming at the back of her neck, she shifted her gaze from those piercing eyes to the glowing glyph in front of her that was still rotating.

Weiss sighed a tolerant kind of sigh, and spoke.

"Commonly passed down. What does that mean, Ruby?"

"Uh...um…"

Wait. Commonly. Commonly!

She looked back at an expectant Weiss.

"Some people also have semblances that do not contain traces from their parents! It's a lot rarer, but not unusual."

A flicker of approval in mist blue eyes.

Yesss!

Feeling a grin form, her hand half-lifted to do a fist pump only to freeze.

"Now what do you know about my semblance and the Schnee Dust?"

She blinked rapidly, and her fist lowered.

Her gaze darted between the heiress and the glyph. The answer was, of course, obvious, but for some reason Ruby had the feeling there was something else that Weiss was trying to get at.

"Your glyph," she hesitated, "it's… it looks like the logo of the Schnee Dust."

"Correct." Weiss turned her gaze from Ruby to the glyph. "My semblance contains traces of what my father had, much like how Yang's is from Tai. This semblance...no, my ancestor's semblance, had been the symbol of Schnee Dust upon its creation."

A pause.

"My sister does not have the glyphs as a semblance." Another abrupt sentence.

"O...okay?" Ruby asked unsurely.

Weiss huffed, all patience seemingly gone.

"Put simply," she snapped, "it means she did not inherit the company because she has been deemed to not have enough Schnee blood in her."

The heiress flicked her finger again and allowed the glyph to disappear.

"Whereas, I do. And it had been centuries since the last Schnee who had a semblance that looked almost exactly like the logo of the company."

It was that detached tone again.

"Potent, they said," Weiss murmured, gaze faraway once more. "The Schnee that runs in my blood."

A pale hand lifted to brush against the misaligned scar on her left eye.

"Winter was angry. And at one point..." the heiress stopped.

Ruby's throat went dry, a sudden suspicion forming.

Weiss, for her part, seemed lost in her memories, fingers brushing against the scar - for all intents and purposes having forgotten that Ruby was next to her.

The scar… so many times, the younger girl had theorized what had caused it. Was it White Fang? Some random assassin trying his luck? A faunus? Grimm? A training accident?

She had even entertained the idea that Weiss somehow struck herself with Mytrenaster, but it was a thought she had discarded immediately. Her partner wielded her weapon with such deadly skill and elegance that she knew it was impossible. And if Weiss ever knew she'd considered that possibility, a very pointy rapier might come jabbing at her eye instead.

And more to the point - Ruby had never seen fit to ask where that scar originated from. No matter how close they were, some secrets were their own.

But looking back now… perhaps she should have asked.

There was one possibility she had never actually considered till just now - one that she never even thought possible.

And yet...

No.

It couldn't be.

It couldn't… could it?

She could hardly even imagine it being possible. They were _family_, and family was important. But sometimes, and perhaps now was one of them, Ruby needed a harsh reminder that not all families were like hers.

_You need to remember that not all big sisters are like Yang, Ruby._

Something dark and dangerous stirred in her stomach.

Impulsively, she grabbed the hand that was touching the marking on the face.

Startled mist blue eyes shot up to meet hers.

"What did she _do_?" there was almost something venomous about the way Ruby growled - and the younger girl honestly couldn't help it.

Where moments ago she had a mildly good opinion of Winter Schnee, now it had just dropped completely into the negative.

The heiress stared in bewilderment.

Ruby inhaled. "_Weiss._"

"Why are you…?" There was genuine confusion in those mist blue eyes, as if Weiss could not comprehend the idea of someone being angry on her behalf.

Her mouth closed, her teeth clenched, but somehow she managed to speak through the rising anger.

"Your sister hurt you."

The heiress just stared.

Almost as if on its own accord, Ruby's hand lifted - and her thumb brushed against the permanent depression on her partner's cool skin.

Weiss flinched from the sudden touch, but was too caught off guard to say anything else.

"She did this," Ruby found herself saying, and later she would think back on this and feel the ice in her veins as she remembered the way her voice sounded to herself.

It was also less of a question and more of a statement.

Her finger traced the scar again, and loose strands of white hair brushed against the back of her palm.

For a few seconds, all her partner did was stare.

Weiss collected herself back together with a stuttering breath, and backed away from the touch, gaze going down to the seabed where the waves were harsh against the rocks.

"She was angry," Weiss said instead, neither denying or agreeing. "Rightfully so."

A pause.

The heiress turned to meet her in the eye.

"I appreciate your concern," the heiress said formally, a touch softer, and continued before Ruby could get a word of protest in, "but there is no need."

She could feel her teeth grinding.

"That's - "

"Ruby."

Her mouth closed.

Weiss took in a deep breath. "Regardless of what happened, Winter changed after that, as well. She had grown subdued, and perhaps even regretful. I wouldn't know. But she has been a good sister to me since then, treating me well, and spoiling me..."

The anger simmering in her abated a little at that.

Point made, Weiss looked back out to the sea.

"She shouldn't have to, though." The heiress's soft words seemed so far away. "If nothing else, that just means she became like everyone else who tried to give me everything I do not need."

It was Ruby's turn to stare.

Despite the trees that continued to rustle, and the waves that crashed into the rocks - it was deafeningly silent between them.

And staring at her now - her partner, her friend...and someone who had come to be so very precious to her - her heart ached.

_Mirror, mirror...tell me something…_

. . .

A pair of arms engulfed Weiss in a tight hug suddenly, and she let out a startled breath, almost slipping off the rock and down the cliff.

"Ruby, that's dangerous!" She pressed a hand to the rock, while the other grasped a sleeved arm and tried to pry her off. "What are you - "

Somehow, whether on purpose or not, Ruby managed to get her off-balance despite her best efforts - but thankfully not down the edge of the cliff, but backwards onto the soft grass.

She grunted at the impact on her back, breath knocked out of her.

Ruby hadn't released her, arms still wrapped tight around her, nose buried in her shoulder.

Confused and bewildered, she tried to push Ruby off - but perhaps it was a pointless struggle.

The four years at Beacon had given her leader time to grow - both in height and strength. It did not help was that Weiss had always been the weakest among them when it came to physical strength; this wasn't something she particularly minded - her skills lay in areas that none of her team members could even come close to rivaling.

But, at this moment, she _did_ mind.

"Ruby - " she exhaled, and tried to suppress the rising flush on her face while maintaining her composure. For all the exasperation and anger that was threatening to take over the rational side of her, a part of her recognized the oddity of her partner's actions. "What's wrong?"

An incoherent mumble.

Her brows furrowed.

"What...?" she asked back stiffly, and tugged at the red cloak to indicate what she wanted. "And please, get off me already."

Her partner moved then - not to release her, but to hover above her, silver eyes bright with too many things to discern, dark curls of hair loose and messy and blocking the sun.

It cast a seemingly ethereal light above Ruby that took her breath away.

But that wasn't why she was suddenly at a loss of words.

A warm droplet of water trickled down her cheek.

The tense grip she had on Ruby's cloak loosened, and her anger was suddenly gone, replaced by a jumble of emotions she could barely decipher, all of which seemed to serve the purpose of making her heart ache.

A second droplet.

A third.

Slowly, she lifted both hands to grasp her partner's face.

She brushed past stray strands of dark hair, and thumbed at the moisture, letting it spread to her finger.

"Fool of a girl," she said at last, tone softer than she wanted it to be, "why are you crying?"

She didn't know if her voice was wavering. She hoped that it wasn't.

Above her, the expression Ruby had was the saddest that she had ever seen, with tears that did not seem to stop falling, and silver eyes that were so soulful they pierced into her.

Just a minute ago, the real anger that flamed in Ruby's silver eyes had startled her and made her feel honored - honored that her partner could get so angry for her. And now… now, she had went from angry to sad like with a flip of the switch.

Ruby sniffled.

Weiss almost smiled at that - part fond, part exasperated, part wistful.

Her partner, she always seemed to forget when it counted most, was an emotional person. A foolish, earnest girl who always saw the good in people, and someone who felt so much.

She thumbed at another tear track on that face gently.

"You are - " another sniffle, "you are hurting, Weiss."

Tears continued to fall.

By now, she had lost count of how many had pattered on her cheek or rolled past her thumbs.

"What kind of answer is that, you dunce?" A stray lock of dark hair, tucked behind the ear. "That doesn't even make any sense."

"But - " Ruby's voice was hoarse and hiccupy. "You won't let yourself cry, and you should, because I can see now that you really do love your family even if Winter doesn't deserve it and - and - your dad is dying, and you are sad, and you - you - "

Now however did Ruby come to that conclusion when she did not confirm nor deny it?

And by all accounts, she should be mad. So, so mad, for her partner had assumed something she had no right to assume. It did not matter if Ruby had thought wrong or right. What mattered was that Ruby _had_, and that was all the reason she needed to shove the girl off and rage.

But this time, there was no anger. No signs of her notoriously short fuse having ended.

Right now… right now, something deep in her just _ached_.

"...I don't recall saying I love my family," she said then, just to fill the silence, yet there was no heat in it.

Another sniffle. "But you do, Weiss. You _do_."

So much conviction. So much faith. So much _belief_.

This, she couldn't help but think. This was the person she followed. This was her partner. This was the girl she had come to cherish so dearly.

Trust her to have wormed her way in so easily like that.

She thumbed another tear away, and gently nudged Ruby to get up.

"Let me up, Ruby," she said, her voice somehow a mix of tension and something too soft. "It's a little uncomfortable to talk like this."

Ruby mumbled something akin to an apology - she couldn't be sure with how that voice cracked and how quiet it had been - but her partner did get up.

She let out a breath that was half awkward and half relieved - and they ended up sitting on the grass with her leaning against the rock, now facing the dense forests, and Ruby sat cross-legged beside her.

Silver eyes were rimmed red, and the younger girl was rubbing at her eyes with a sleeve while sniffling.

She reached out to brush away another tear stain.

"My father doesn't actually hate faunus," she said quietly.

Surprise flickered in silver eyes.

"He never did," she continued, and strangely, it was getting easier to speak.

Wasn't it just a short while ago that she was determined to keep these locked away?

And yet, somehow, Ruby managed to pry each detail out without even trying all that hard.

"He was everything a father could ever be. He was also kind, compassionate, and sympathetic to the faunus. When he took over the company from my grandfather, he tried - really, really tried - to make things better for the faunus."

And little by little, the memories she had kept locked up for so long, with the key thrown away, were unlocking themselves.

"But then the White Fang attacked. They killed my mother. And my father… he changed. He - " she felt a lump form. "He was broken."

Ruby was listening very carefully now.

"Yet even then, he did not hate the faunus. He hated White Fang, but not the faunus. But... with every relative and friend killed, he grew more furious. The steps he took against them became more brutal, and the enemy just fought back harder."

A vicious cycle was all it had been.

"And for all the rage he held and how difficult it made my childhood - he had never raised a hand against those who are not White Fang. But… his efforts to make life better for the faunus stopped there."

The trees rustled.

"And without my father as a barrier… relatives, and friends, who grew just as mad as the war between us and the White Fang reached its peak, did not hold back against the faunus." A pause. "And I, too, had been one of them."

It was a bitter admittance.

Had she known then what she knew now, would things be different?

"My father is the head of the company. And every action done reflects back on him. But even he, for all the power he holds, is not enough to fight against the entire company board that is filled with relatives and friends… especially when he was a shadow of the person he used to be."

Her leader sucked in a comprehending breath, rocked backwards and slumped to the grass next to her.

"Weiss… this - "

She couldn't help but let her lips quirk into the beginnings of a humorless smile.

"Do you see, now, why things between the Schnee Dust Company and the faunus have become the way it is?"

"...Did you tell Blake any of this?" If Blake had known about this - known just how far past the edge White Fang had driven Weiss's father to, then… then…

Silence.

"No," Weiss said after a moment. Ruby stared. "I have no intention to. Blake does not need to know about this."

"But - "

She shook her head. "I didn't tell you this to open a can of worms with her, Ruby. Let her have her peace. She deserves it."

Ruby's shoulders slumped visibly, eyes dropping to the grass. She could understand what Weiss was trying to say.

Blake did deserve the peace. After so long of being tied down by guilt, of things that haunted her at the back of her mind, she was finally, _finally_, starting to relax.

Team RWBY had come so far from that day of initiation four years ago.

And clearly, Weiss did not want to be the one to undo all of that.

Neither did Ruby.

She looked back up at her partner, who, she realized suddenly, had gone silent.

Weiss, it seemed, was lost in her own thoughts once more, staring distantly at nothing.

"There's a lot that I need to do," the heiress murmured. "So, so much…"

Ruby just stared.

And for one very, very small moment, Ruby thought she may have imagined the weight of the world resting on her partner's shoulders, the Schnee symbol prominent on her back, and metal chains of all sorts curling around her arms and slender frame.

How Weiss did not crumble beneath all that, she would never know.

Once again, impulsively, she grabbed her partner's hand.

Blue eyes looked less startled this time but still surprised, and there was also a vague hint of exasperation as the heiress looked at her.

"Let's go to Vale tomorrow."

The other blinked, seemingly uncomprehending.

What Ruby really wanted to say, wanted to _beg_, was for Weiss to let her help.

But she was no longer the child who was clueless of the world. Even if she wanted to help, _how_ could she help?

The answer was simply no - she could not. Perhaps if there was something specific in mind that would involve her scythe, she could.

But even Ruby could tell that most of Weiss's battles would be of the sort unfamiliar to her.

She did not have the knowledge for business and diplomacy, she did not know the intricacies of politics, and she did not belong to that part of the world Weiss would be stepping into.

"What for?"

And Weiss would not allow her to fight the battles that the heiress would have, Ruby was sure of it. Her partner would not want _any_ of them near her battles.

So instead… instead, she would do this.

She would make sure Weiss could still smile through it all, by the end of the day.

"Hmm." Ruby hadn't actually thought about what to do at Vale. "...Coffee at Mikah's? I think we should treat ourselves to some cakes."

An aristocratic white eyebrow arched.

"This wouldn't have anything to do with the weapon's convention two blocks down that, coincidentally, opens tomorrow, would it?"

Ruby might have squirmed just a little as she answered. "...Maybe?"

The look that Weiss gave her in return was stony.

This time she did squirm. "I maybe really wanted to really really really see it…?"

Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose with her free hand and sighed in aggravation. "Your sentence is wrong in so many ways grammatically that I don't even know where to begin, Ruby."

"...So...so we gooo?"

"Can we go," Weiss corrected with a scowl, but did not actually answer the question.

Ruby knew what this meant - it meant that her partner didn't mind going, but actually felt the need to contemplate whether she should go or not.

"So can we go?" Ruby corrected herself, eyes big and pleading, Weiss's hand grasped in front of them in a begging sign.

The heiress twitched visibly.

Another aggravated sigh, and Weiss tugged her hand away. "Fine. Only because I've heard about some interesting weaponry at the convention."

Yesss! Now to just drag Yang and Blake along, both most certainly less reluctant than her partner.

That was when Weiss stood up, and gestured. "We should get back. It's getting late."

"Okay!" Ruby hopped to her feet.

There was a moment of contemplation before the heiress looked directly at her.

"You are done asking questions?"

Mist blue eyes were calm and assessing, but not guarded the way they were an hour ago.

Ruby also knew what it implied.

Once they leave this spot, the heiress would never speak of it again.

Knowing that made her hesitate.

"Just… just one more…?"

"Then speak so we can go back."

She swallowed.

"Can you promise me something?" A pause. "Actually, two things."

Weiss's eyes narrowed. "Promise what?"

The trees rustled, and the rest of their conversation was drowned away by the crashing waves of the sea.

. . .

"_...And the new president of Schnee Dust, Weiss Schnee, will lead the company henceforth."_

_The announcer stepped down, and a female dressed impeccably in white stepped up, snow white hair tied up in a side ponytail, the pale, misaligned scar prominent on her left eye… and a pale ice blue cloak with the Schnee emblem billowing and clasped to her shoulders with silver loops and sleekly placed metallic armors that framed her left shoulder._

_All of that combined served to make her look more imposing. _

_The cloak had been a gift from Ruby._

_She pressed both hands to the edges of the podium stand, and looked at the crowd before her with piercing mist blue eyes._

_With a deep breath and a firm gaze, she spoke._

"_My greetings to all of you. I am Weiss Schnee."_

. . .

"Well?"

"...If you ever need me, or Yang, or Blake, I want you to contact us. I don't care if it's day or night or if for whatever reason we were neck-deep in some Grimm nest, we will come running to you. So. _Call. Us._"

"Even neck-deep in a Grimm nest? Ruby, that's just not logically possible - "

"I'm serious!"

A tolerant sigh.

"Okay. Fine. I promise I will get in contact if I ever need your help. Or Yang's or Blake's. Happy?"

"Very." A firm nod and crossed arms.

The other just looked vaguely amused.

"That's one. What's the other?"

"..."

"Ruby?"

Scuffling feet.

"...Don't ever forget us, okay? I don't want us to be strangers."

The leaves rustled, and strong, harsh tidal waves crashed into rocks. The sunlight soaked into almost everything on the cliff, save for two dark shadows imprinted onto the grass that were two steps from each other.

A gentle huff.

"Ruby," the words were said softly, carried through the gentle wind. "you are such an idiot."

One of the shadows hedged.

"Yes, well… I still want that promise, Weiss!"

An amused huff.

"Very well."

The other shadow stepped closer, until they were barely touching.

A hand was grasped.

"Huh? W-Weiss? What - "

"Be quiet."

"O-okay…"

A deep breath.

"On my word, my name, and my sword, I, Weiss Schnee make this oath today."

Soft, calm words.

"For as long as I live, I will never forget you, Yang, and Blake. You hold my loyalty as my leader, and my friendship as your partner." A pause. "And if ever comes a time you require my help, all you need to do is ask, and my sword is yours. This, I swear to you here, Ruby Rose."

The hand was lifted, the back of it pressed to a pair of lips.

"Th - that was - w - " Bewildered stuttering and a deep flush on the face. "Oh, wow, Weiss - "

"Hmph." The dark imprints on the grass parted as a shadow visibly turned, hands crossed. "That's how Schnee makes a promise, just so you know. And we don't break promises."

"O-oh…"

Silence.

Another sigh.

"N - now are we done? Let's go back."

A stare that slowly formed into something mischievous.

"Okay!"

One shadow leaped, and joined with the other again.

"Wha?! Let go you dunce!"

"Don't wanna~"

"Ruby!"

. . .

A/N – The scar on Weiss's eye? Did not happen during the trailer. I checked. To clarify - I investigated, and concluded that this couldn't have happened during the trailer. The armor punched, not sliced. Admittedly it was a pointy punch, but it's far more likely for Weiss to get a crooked nose (be glad she didn't...) than a clean cut that became a scar.

Major thanks to WayFarer2000 for his speedy beta. I... don't really have anything in particular to say. I just thought that her past was overly mysterious and I sought to demystify it. What else... oh. I've also made a tumblr account to stalk the RWBY fandom. For whatever reason, the entire fandom seems to be based there so I decided that I needed one for stalking.

And, um. In all honesty, I wasn't sure if I should have posted this given recent events that left many solemn... it didn't seem too appropriate. But I have been convinced otherwise.

So... I guess all I can say is, even if this hadn't been the most light-hearted of a story, I hope you've enjoyed it, and maybe managed a smile.

Lastly: Thank you, Monty. And goodbye.


End file.
